Romans 14:1-4
"Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person's faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand."
Everyone's faith is different in spirituality. As a result everyone handles matters in a different way. In Paul's time, since Christians were living among the Gentile idol worshippers, how to handle the food used in idol worshipping might cause controversy. Therefore in 1 Corinthians 10:27-31 he taught us clearly that according to the truth everything is edible, as long as it is consecrated and consumed with a heart of thanksgiving.
It is undeniable that in reality people have different perspectives. Some people would eat everything by faith. Others might think it would stumble people, so by faith they would restrain from eating. So Paul taught us that it is more important not to judge each other, regardless whether to eat or not. Inside the church today, what we face is not about food, but many other issues and many formalities to argue about. Some people would propose immersion to baptize, while others sprinkling. Some people would propose lively worship, while others solemn one. Sometimes the argument even caused division. How sad!
Don't argue about something you are not sure of, for these things are not about absolute truth anyway. Mostly they are due to the difference in culture and personality. Besides, the Bible does not have clear teaching regarding them. God didn't give us the standard answer. So argument cannot solve problems. Rather, it destroys the relationship. On the other hand, we need to respect every brother and sister, for they all belong to the same God. I often sigh at criticisms, judgments and attacks among churches, denominations and seminaries, because they are like the Chinese saying: "Why persecute so hard among the siblings?" We all belong to the same Heavenly Father, the same Savior and the same Spirit. We are brothers and sisters in the Lord. How can we judge others at will? Needless to say, judge them is to judge the Lord inside them. May the Spirit help us to accept each other with tolerance. We need to love each other with the love of Christ, so that we can truly enjoy the joy of unity after we accept each other.
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